BAGHDAD, July 15: US overseer for Iraq Paul Bremer reiterated on Tuesday that coalition forces would stay in the country no longer than necessary, while welcoming a new Governing Council as a “strong partner.”

“Our time here is in the hands of the Iraqi people,” Bremer told a press conference, adding that the first priority was to draft a constitution to prepare the ground for elections. These are not expected until mid-2004 at the earliest.

He said the Governing Council, which held its first meeting Sunday, wanted to appoint a committee to decide on the procedure for drafting a constitution.

The matter is a sensitive issue in Iraq as the top cleric of the country’s Shia majority, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has denounced previous plans for the council to work in tandem with a parallel body to draw up the constitution ahead of national elections.—AFP